Dear Christy - The Christy Brown Collection

"The American Irish Historical Society celebrates the life of beloved Irish author Christy Brown, known best for his memoir My Left Foot, at this special retrospective." – Time Out New York

This year Christy Brown’s personal archive was exhibited for the first time in a major exhibition at the Little Museum of Dublin. Powerful, amusing and poignant, the Christy Brown Collection celebrated the life of this extraordinary artist and writer. Now the exhibition is on the way to New York, where it will be co-presented with our friends in the American Irish Historical Society.

Christy Brown was brilliantly played by Daniel Day-Lewis in the Oscar-winning film My Left Foot. But the complexities of his life, together with his struggle to be understood – and taken seriously – have only recently come to light. Those complexities are explored in a brilliant new exhibition at the American Irish Historical Society.

“We are excited about bringing this amazing show to New York,” says curator Simon O’Connor, “as it celebrates the life of a truly inspirational Irishman.” The show explores the struggles of Brown as a child, and the way his family inspired him to create remarkable paintings, a classic memoir, four novels and four collections of poetry – all with his left foot.

In March 2014, the Little Museum of Dublin and the National Library of Ireland jointly purchased the Christy Brown archive for €44,733 at an auction in London. Speaking at the time of the purchase, then-Minister for Arts Jimmy Deenihan praised the Little Museum and the National Library for ensuring that “a wonderful piece of our cultural and literary heritage, will be preserved for, and made accessible to, the people of Ireland.”

This exhibition has already proved hugely popular with lovers of literature, history and Irish culture. School groups, children and tourists will also enjoy the inspiring story of a man who defied the odds to become a hugely successful artist and writer.